


Truth or Dare Not Lie

by Vanilla98



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Clint Barton & Tony Stark Friendship, Daddy Issues, Eventual Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Freeform, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra, Lie Serum, M/M, Pre-Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Protective Avengers, Protective Steve Rogers, The Avengers love Tony Stark, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Truth Serum, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 23:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17171795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanilla98/pseuds/Vanilla98
Summary: “Avengers, this may not be about Stark Industries,” Fury spoke with urgency. “Tony Stark is attending the gala. And with what took place a few days ago, there is a possibility that Hydra may want him.”Steve gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. If Hydra even touched a single strand of hair on Tony’s head, they were going to incur Steve’s deadly rage wrath and no one was going to stop that....In other words, Tony gets hit with a 'Lie Serum' and vomits every time he lies to anyone, no thanks to Hydra. With his feelings for Steve buried deep inside him as a secret, can Tony dare not lie about it to Steve when Steve finds out about it?





	1. Hydra Thanks Tony Stark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ashreads](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashreads/gifts).



> Hey guys! How are you all?
> 
> This was what I was working on for a long time, ever since a friend and I spoke about truth serum. I thought, why not come up with a lie serum and add some Stony in it to spice things up! And this story came about!  
> This will be updated pretty fast, through New Years and all. And I hope you guys enjoy this story!  
> I did a few research to come up with a rough idea of how the lie serum might work! Also for reference, this story takes place roughly after Iron Man 3 and before Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
> 
> Overall, there's gonna be angst, a lot of vomiting (please beware!) and a hell load of Protective Steve! :D  
> Happy reading!! And a belated Merry Christmas to all of you!!
> 
> (PS, my other fics will be updated real soon!! Thank you for your support so far!!)

Party. More like, a rock party was going on in Tony’s lab and the only few invited were Dum-E, Butterfingers, U, Jarvis and Tony himself. Tony had been swaying to the rhythm of AC/DC and many other rock bands while working on a new upgrade on his suit. He only became aware of his surroundings when a different genre song started to play. 

“What?” Tony stopped his work and looked around him. 

“Rubberband Man by The Spinners, sir. You had added this song in to this particular playlist,” Jarvis informed him. 

Tony had a habit that he had formed with Bruce’s encouragement. Rock music was his go-to whenever he worked on any project, be it for Stark Industries or Avengers or for himself. That also meant he never took a break and could go on working for long hauls and ignoring Jarvis’ pleas, which Bruce absolutely despised ever since he had moved to the Tower with Tony. To break that habit, Bruce picked out good music from other genres and had encouraged Tony to add it to his various rock playlists so that he could at least get a cup of coffee or some toasts as a form of break. Even a 10 minute shut-eye was encouraged. Tony tried and boy, did he find himself being more productive after taking a small break. 

Tony’s and Bruce’s friendship evolved just like this, and at times, Bruce dropped by at Tony’s lab for a chat.

Now, Tony stopped working and stretched his back. He let out an almighty groan, feeling the pleasure of stretching after three hours of work. 

He was dancing to the rhythm of the music and sang the song. Dum-E was preparing coffee for Tony, with the coffee maker. Tony was wiggling his butt and Dum-E did a cute twirl of his arm, to join Tony. The bots were all moving to the rhythm. 

“ _ You’re bound to lose control, when the rubberband man starts to jam, _ ” Tony sang while waiting for the coffeemaker to be done. “Come on Dum-E, dance with me!”

Dum-E made an innocent and cheerful noise. Tony held Dum-E’s arm and bit his lip as he moved along, shaking his head. 

He was so into the groove, he hadn’t heard his lab door hissing open. 

“U, Butterfingers, come!!” Tony called out cheerfully. He took out his grease stained tank top out and spun it around in the air. He tossed it behind him and danced with his bots. 

After a few more seconds, the song ended. Tony gave all his bots a fist bump and an affectionate pat. He took out the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of coffee, when he realized his mug was all the way at his work desk. He placed the pot down and turned around to walk. 

Steve Rogers was standing there, holding a tray full of sandwiches, wearing an over-sized sweatpants with a long-sleeved light blue shirt. Tony’s tank top was resting on his head, but the Captain didn’t look angry… In fact, he was chuckling at Tony. 

So, Steve had self-invited himself to the lab party and watched the entire thing, including Tony dancing like an idiot. 

Tony smiled and felt himself blush furiously. He gave his head an absent minded scratch.

“Heya Cap,” Tony licked his lips and cleared his throat. “I see you’re here with food.”

“Couldn’t sleep. So I made us both sandwiches and came down to… see you partying with your bots,” Steve grinned. He placed the tray down on the coffee table and sat on the couch, passing Tony his tank top. Tony took it and quickly wore it. 

“You couldn’t sleep?” Tony frowned. 

“You don’t know what time it is, do you?” Steve narrowed his eyes and shook his head disapprovingly. 

“It’s 3am, sir,” Jarvis piped up cheekily. Tony’s eyes widened at that. He took his mug from his work desk and walked to the coffee machine. 

“So that’s why you were asking me to sleep,” Tony told Jarvis. 

Steve had his lips pursed and if Jarvis had an AI form, Tony swore even that AI form would be so done at this moment.

“At least have these sandwiches, Tony,” Steve took one. Tony poured his coffee into the mug. “But you need to go to bed in two hours.”

“I can sleep here,” Tony nodded at where Steve was seated. There was a blanket right beside Steve. When Steve didn’t look convinced enough, Tony became persuasive. “Really, Steve, I sleep here all the time! Don’t worry, okay? I will sleep soon!”

Here’s a little thing Tony was going through. He actually had a little crush on Steve for a while now, but being the consummate professional that he was, he never told Steve about it. Ever since Steve moved in to the Tower, and eventually his other teammates, he had been eyeing the super soldier. Yes, Steve was his dad’s favorite. Howard would have chosen Steve over Tony on any day, that was a given. But there was something in Steve that tugged at Tony’s heart. The way he saw the good in others, the way he wanted to help people out as much as he could, and the way he cared for the team. Yeah, all those got to Tony. Plus, Steve was there for Tony (with food, most of the time) and made sure Tony was never left out. So, why be angry at Steve for what Howard did? It was Howard’s fault anyway that he decided to not be there for Tony.

Tony sat down beside Steve and took a sandwich. He ate it while holding his cup of coffee.

“No,” Steve grabbed the mug before it made its way to Tony’s mouth. “Caffeine affects sleep. You can have one after the nap.”

“Sure,” Tony rolled his eyes. “So how long are you planning to stay here?”

“As long as I want,” Steve smiled, placing the mug on the table. 

Both Steve and Tony settled into a comfortable silence as they ate their sandwiches. Tony couldn’t help but feel the warmth radiating from Steve’s body. Steve was called many things, even a walking flag. But people definitely missed out the walking heat radiator. Tony wished he could snuggle against him and fall asleep but… oh well, he could. Nothing in this Tower had a heterosexual explanation anyway, other than Clint and Natasha at times.

“Sandwich was the only reason you came down?” Tony asked.

Steve turned to look at the smaller man, still munching. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh,” Tony nodded his head. “I must be a sanctuary then, for people to fall asleep near me.”

Steve snorted. “Then that’ll be an irony.”

“Sure. Then, I can change my name to Irony Man in the Avengers ID card,” Tony shrugged, making Steve laugh.

“It has a nice ring to it,” Steve joked. “Yeah no, I also came here to make sure you get some rest. We have a team building exercise in the morning and I want you to be ready for it.”

Tony fought off the urge to roll his eyes so badly. Steve  _ loved _ these exercises. And he always found a reason to come up and plan one of them.

“Is it really necessary?” Tony asked. “No offence but, I think we’re all well aware that we’re a team and are growing closer….”

“That’s not the point,” Steve frowned. “If the team was going apart, I would have ordered a team vacation.”

Tony nearly choked on his sandwich. “I don’t think avenging gives time for a vacation. But really, then what’s the point?”

“It’s to enhance our combat skills and practice more with each other, so that we can fight as a cohesive unit,” Steve explained, sounding as if Tony should know this. 

“Fine, I see your point,” Tony pursed his lips, feeling tired and not wanting to argue with Steve because that’ll drain another ten years away from Tony’s life. “I’ll come down, but… maybe later?”

“On time,” Steve said. He stood up and adjusted himself. “Finish up and go to bed. Jarvis, please…”

“I’m on it, Captain,” Jarvis replied. 

Steve gave Tony a smile before walking out of his lab. 

“J, I don’t want to go for that shit,” Tony groaned after his lab doors hissed shut. 

“But you have to, sir,” Jarvis replied. “Or else Captain Rogers could bench you.”

“The hell he will!”

Tony went to his work desk to see if he could push through for another hour. But his eyes were blurring and he didn’t feel all too well. 

“I’ll just take a ten. J, get U to cling wrap this plate of sandwiches,” Tony said and went back to the couch. Jarvis dimmed the lights and Tony fell asleep within seconds, with U getting to work.

 

…

 

“On your left, Iron Man!!!” Steve shouted at Tony while tackling the Hulk.

Tony turned just on time to see an explosive arrow fly towards him. He flew to the side and let it explode mid-air. But he wasn’t aware of Thor’s hammer flying toward his back, on time. Mjolnir hit him with ferocity and Tony came crashing down onto the floor. 

“Stop the training exercise,” Steve sighed as he jogged towards Tony. 

“Did he die?” Clint asked. 

“Alive, and dead,” Tony managed to push himself up to a sitting position. Hulk was examining him from where he was standing. “Big guy, I’m okay…”

“Doesn’t look so bad to me,” Natasha shrugged. Tony threw her a light glare.  

“Mjolnir was flying towards me, Tony, I’m sorry,” Thor grinned sheepishly at Iron Man. 

“It’s okay, been hit by worse anyway,” Tony got up and wobbled slightly. Steve sprang forward and held him. “Thanks, Cap.”

Tony had slept at 3.30am and had woken up at 9am, just on time for the team bonding exercise Steve had cooked up. They have been going over battle strategies for fifteen minutes, before trying out the actual combat in the training simulator room. “We’ll take a few minutes break before we have a little de-brief,” Steve ordered. 

Just then, the Avengers Assemble alarm began to ring.

“Oh great,” Clint sighed and plopped down onto the bench. 

“Avengers, Hydra has taken to the streets of Hell's Kitchen with one of their experiments,” Jarvis explained. “They are threatening to use it on the people.”

“Jarvis, give me the specs,” Tony said. 

“The rest of you, suit up,” Steve instructed before everyone ran out of the room to fully prepare themselves. 

Within a few minutes, their quinjet blasted out of the Tower, headed towards Hell’s Kitchen.

“An army, Cap, with a leader carrying the uh… spray can,” Natasha informed Steve about what they were up against. “Their experiment is in a spray can.”

“What are they planning to try out, hair spray that fries people’s brains off?” Tony scoffed from the pilot seat. 

“Whatever it is, it’s dangerous,” Steve sighed. “Never let your guards down when it comes to Hydra. Alright, here’s the plan. Thor and Hulk, try to take down the army. Natasha and Tony, find and get the leader. Clint, up on a roof and call out patterns and tell us where the army is. Fliers also do air-reconnaissance. And me, I’ll be fighting with the army first and then I’ll join Black Widow and Iron Man on getting that spray can out of his hands. Avengers, Assemble!”

The quinjet blasted across the deep blue New York skies. Within minutes, the Avengers found themselves in a street, helping out civilians and taking down some Hydra goons. Everybody stuck to the plan Steve had laid out, even Tony, who loved to surprise Steve with his sudden spontaneous plans. 

Natasha was running through the streets and was checking each store that was there for the main leader. Tony was doing the same but from the air. 

“I can’t find him, Nat,” Tony sighed.

“Keep trying, I’ll go into the apartments to check,” Natasha said while jumping up onto a truck to kick down a Hydra agent. She then jumped back down onto the pavement in one swift motion and went to the first apartment building her sights had landed on. 

“Jarvis, do a scan and show me any stray Hydra agents that are not in this street,” Tony silently instructed his AI while hovering in the air. “And on second thoughts, switch on my internal camera, we’re gonna do something interesting.”

“Got it, sir,” Jarvis replied. “Actually, sir, there are a few Hydra agents on the next street, away from the Hulk and Thor.”

Tony decided to fire up his thrusters and followed the map Jarvis was showing him on his HUD.

Captain America joined Hulk and Thor on the street. He hit a few of the Hydra agents using his shield. One of them fired at him, but Steve was pretty quick. He angled his shield in such a way that the bullet ricocheted off and hit another Hydra agent. The guy who shot looked at his colleague lying down on the road in surprise. Too much in surprise that he hadn’t seen Captain America’s red gloved fist flying towards his face. 

“We really need to find the leader,” Steve ordered, looking around at the damages done to the street. 

“Working on it, Cap,” Natasha said. “I found some civilians hiding out in the apartments. I’m bringing them to the roof for safety.”

“Good, we need them off the streets,” Clint said while surveying below. “One behind you, Cap.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Steve kicked the Hydra agent and sent him crashing onto the road. He looked up to see Iron Man flying to the next street. 

“Another day where a stupid ass Hydra scientist who thinks he’s a magician is trying to unleash something powerful into the world!” Tony spoke as he flew down, blasting low energy repulsor blasts at some Hydra agents running towards him in the next street.

“Didn’t know we had mid-battle commentaries now,” Clint mocked in a friendly manner while perched on the roof. He shoots his arrows at one Hydra agent who nearly attacked Natasha, who was helping out a civilian outside. Her search for the leader inside the building was futile.

“A vlog!” Tony replied. He flew all the way up to do another air reconnaissance. “I know a kid and he suggested I do vlogs! I’m using Jarvis.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how a vlog works,” Natasha said while running to another alley. She let out a soft growl in frustration as the leader wasn’t there either. 

“I think I’m more surprised by the fact that he took an advice from a kid,” Clint chuckled as he launched a cable arrow to the ground. 

“Why is the chatter so much all of a sudden?” Steve asked. He punched, knocking out a Hydra agent and looked around him at his team, who were slowly gathering around him. “We’re still missing the main guy.”

“I cannot find the main man,” Thor frowned. He was hovering in the air now, while using his hammer to help him in flight. He was also doing an air reconnaissance with Tony, yet that damn main leader couldn’t be found. 

Tony swooped down and landed in an alleyway, just 3 blocks away from where his team was standing. He was about to join the others when he felt something, or someone hit the side of his head with a trash can lid. It hit a button and enabled his faceplate up. The main leader yanked it out of the suit and tossed it away before Tony could close his faceplate back. 

“FUCKER!” Tony screamed as he hit the ground. He was face-to-face with that Hydra idiot, main leader, who the Avengers were looking for.

“I think we found the main guy,” Clint spoke into the comms. 

“You will thank us, Mr. Stark,” he grinned like a mad man and sprayed something at Tony’s face before Tony could repulsor blast him into oblivion.

“What the hell is that?!” Tony asked in a high-pitched voice as he tried to spit and wipe the content out of his face. It felt like cool water but cool water from Hydra? No way was he falling for that.

Tony transferred his power to his chest beam and blasted the dude, who unfortunately flew and landed straight into Clint, who had ran to help Tony. Clint fell face flat, with some of his arrows flying out of his quiver. 

“Found that last asshole,” Natasha said as she ran to Clint. She kicked the spray can out of the leader’s hand and pinned him to the ground before he could get up. “This guy’s… strong. Steve?”

Steve jogged quickly to where his team was.

Clint decided to lay down on the road for a while. He heaved out a huge sigh.

“Sorry, Clint,” Tony said while wiping his face.

“It’s okay, not your fault.” Clint said as if in a daze. “But I do see an angel, Tasha is an angel.”

“Hit head hard,” Hulk pointed out as he knelt down near Clint. 

“What did he spray at you, Tony?” Steve asked. He knocked the main leader out using his fist and walked to Tony, who was still looking bewildered at what had just happened. 

“I’m… not sure. J?” Tony asked. 

“Scanning, sir,” Jarvis said. “It seems to be some compound sir, a newly formed compound. The usage is still unknown.”

“We’ll take it from here,” Fury’s voice suddenly came through their comms. “ Shield will handle this and we’ll check what Hydra was trying to spray at the people.”

Steve sighed. He nodded his head and allowed the Shield agents to drop down from the helicarrier, which was floating above them. They started to arrest the Hydra agents that were still dazed out on the road. 

“Let’s have a de-brief,” Steve said while checking for his team. 

While Shield handled the clean-up, the Avengers flew back to the Tower. Before any of them could change and rest, they went for a de-brief session in their meeting room.

 

…

 

Jarvis still couldn’t figure out what the cool water Hydra had sprayed on Tony could do. There wasn’t much of a sample Tony could give his AI. The spray can was in Shield’s hands so their scientists could figure out what it does. Surely the Hydra idiots wouldn’t give up their secret; they’re too loyal for that.

Tony had sat down in his lab, still shaken by that little encounter he had in the alley. He took a sandwich and ate it, absent-minded. Somehow, it was still edible. Tony ate them all, while trying to push away the thoughts in his mind. That Hydra asshole had easily ripped his faceplate off… 

“Jarvis?” Tony asked, sounding quiet.

“Sir.”

“Add this into the list. We’re making a faceplate that opens in my command and something I can remove by my hand, with no override switches.”

“Added into the list, sir. Also, the rest of the members are having lunch. Might I suggest joining them so that you could feel better?”

Tony smiled a little at Jarvis’ concern. “Sure, why not.”

“You also took quite the beating, sir. You might want to take a little break from the lab tonight.” 

“Yeah,” Tony nodded his head, thinking about rest. “Let’s just go up and see what the others are up to.”

After a long elevator ride, Tony reached their communal level, where Clint was already sitting on the couch while surfing through TV channels. Natasha was bringing him his plate of food for him. Right, lunch. 

Bruce joined them, followed by Steve and Thor.

“Hey Tony,” Bruce waved at him. “Join us for lunch!”

“How’re you feeling?” Steve asked.

Tony waved it off, not wanting to talk about his pain and injuries. “I’m feeling pretty okay, Cap.”

Right after his reply left his mouth, Tony felt a sudden wave of nausea hit him hard. He tried to hold it back in, not wanting to make a mess there. 

“That doesn’t look  _ pretty okay, _ ” Clint commented. Everyone were watching Tony slowly turning pale. His eyes widened and he was shaking, trying to hold back from puking.

“Tony?” Steve asked, looking worried. He stood up to go to Tony.

Tony could no longer hold it in. His hand went to shut his mouth but his vomit simply cascaded out of him. Tony swore he blacked out for a second. Bruce was within Tony’s side in an instant.

“I got you, science bro,” Bruce assured him. “Must be the trash can lid giving you a concussion.”

Tony tried to say that he was fine but ended up throwing up more instead. 

“We need to get to my lab,” Bruce sighed. “Jarvis, prep my stuff.”

“With pleasure, Dr. Banner,” Jarvis replied.

Within a few minutes, Bruce, Steve and Tony were in the lab, with Tony sitting on a makeshift bed. Jarvis was scanning him to check for concussion or food poisoning or anything that could make a person throw up. Steve, being the leader he was, was just staring at Tony with his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking utterly concerned. 

“Please don’t look at me like that,” Tony gave him a pout, sounding tired.

“I’m thinking if what Hydra sprayed on you is causing it,” Steve exhaled loudly. He gave his forehead a massage.

“It could be a concussion, Cap,” Bruce said. 

“Actually, no Doctor,” Jarvis piped up. “My scans don’t show any form of concussion or food poisoning. Additionally, Mr. Stark doesn’t have gastritis, motion sickness, stomach flu, heart attack and no history of eating disorders. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Steve looked up at the ceiling.

“Unless you consider skipping breakfast but eating only bread and leftover mashed potato for lunch and dinner and drinking three pots of coffee over the night a problem, then Mr. Stark has that,” Jarvis added sneakily.

Tony rolled his eyes and wasn’t ready to look up to see the others. He was pretty sure the good Captain was glaring at him; he could feel his glare burning a hole through his skull. Bruce shook his head and went on to examine Tony. He shone a light into Tony’s eyes, checked his throat, ear and tongue and even took his blood pressure and temperature. 

He was perfectly fine.

“I can’t find a thing,” Bruce said. “He’s perfectly fine, Steve.”

“I want to know what Hydra sprayed on him,” Steve said firmly. “I’ll go to Shield to get back the spray can for you to examine, Dr. Banner. And Tony, we’re gonna make sure you’re okay.”

Tony’s heart swooned and he just loved how protective Steve could get of someone. 

“Sure thing, Steve,” Tony waved him off, watching him walk out of the lab.  

“So, are you gonna sit here all day or what?” Bruce smiled at his good friend. 

“If you’re planning to draw me like one of your French girls, I don’t mind but nope. Duty calls,” Tony stood up, ready to walk back to his lab.

“No pal,” Bruce narrowed his eyes. And Tony was taken aback completely by his tone. Thank God Steve had walked out already. “Lunch calls first. You’re eating something and you’re gonna be on watch for the rest of the week because this vomiting condition might just come back.” 

Bruce’s persistence warmed Tony’s heart, but he rolled his eyes and accepted to go back to the communal level with Bruce.

 

…

 

At night, Steve, Natasha, Clint and Thor were having their weekly together session at the gym. Steve was sparring with Natasha, while Clint and Thor were having an abs workout.

“I’ll try to ignore your perfectly sculpted abs while I work mine,” Clint huffed at Thor, who was grinning at him. This was when he spotted a familiar face walk in. “Tony! Come join us! Steve needs a new sparring partner!”

“Uhh, sure,” Tony scratched his head as he walked in. All he wanted to do was go for a light walk on his treadmill. 

Steve smiled at Tony as Natasha walked away. She didn’t fail to notice how Tony looked when Steve was smiling at him; like an utter fool in love.

“You sure you can do this?” Steve asked him.

Tony felt fine, he didn’t feel nauseous at all. “Sure I can, I’m not a baby, Captain.”

“If you say so,” Steve shrugged, giving Tony a playful smile. “I’m going to flip you.”

“He was puking, Cap,” Natasha pointed out. “Don’t you think you should do other minor moves?”

“Not a problem,” Tony said, readying himself for the flip. 

“Hey, don’t you love sparring?” Clint was grinning mischievously from the gym area. 

Tony knew how much Steve loved to spar, unlike Tony. Tony was not fond of sparring. But he had no plans on hurting Steve now.

“Yeah, I love to spar,” Tony shrugged. 

Steve came forward and hoisted Tony up before Tony could defend himself. Steve flipped Tony about a 180 degrees in the air while holding him. What was unexpected was Tony’s body chose this moment to throw up. His vomit did a flip too, with some landing on Steve. The rest splattered across the floor, and Tony hadn’t realized what had happened. He was too focused on how Steve had lifted him up and flipped him effortlessly. Also, Tony had accidentally seen Steve’s biceps.

Clint let out a shriek and suddenly Tony found himself surrounded by his friends, all looking at him with concern. He felt himself vomit on his own shirt and realized what had happened. Tony let out a long suffering groan and cupped his face with his hands. 

“Please tell me Bruce is investigating what Hydra sprayed on me?” Tony asked, and God help him this was the most innocent he had ever sounded.

“He is,” Steve assured him. He gave Tony’s back a few rubs. 

“Still feel like vomiting?” Thor asked Tony with a look of concern.

“No,” Tony whined. “I don’t know what’s causing this!!” 

“We’ll find out soon,” Natasha smiled at him. “How about we get you to bed?”

Tony reluctantly agreed. Steve was the one following him while the rest of them were just standing there, watching them both go. 

“You’re gonna be alright,” Steve said as he swung an arm around Tony. 

“How do you know that?” Tony grumbled but was secretly enjoying Steve’s warmth. He wished this moment could last forever but oh well. 

“Bruce is surely going to find out what is causing this, and we’re gonna wreck Hydra until they rectify this,” Steve said firmly. Tony felt his heart doing jumps when he heard the steely determination in Steve’s voice.

They soon got to Tony’s room, which was frankly a mess as he was looking for suitable clothes to go for his gala. Right, that fucking gala!!

“Sorry,” Tony muttered as he walked to the washroom to change and wash up. 

He splashed water on his face.

“Get a grip,” he whispered to himself. “Come on!”

There was nothing coming out. In fact, Tony didn’t even feel nauseous at all. He slammed his hands on the sink in frustration. Surely, this was caused by whatever Hydra had sprayed on him. Stupid Hydra. 

“Cap,” Tony said as he brisk-walked out of the washroom. “I’m okay. I feel perfectly fine and I’m okay.”

Steve frowned. “Okay… but call me if you need anything, okay?”

Tony nodded his head. He felt a twinge of sadness when he saw Steve leave his room. 

“Would you like me to call him back, sir?” Jarvis asked, sensing Tony’s distress.

“No no, let him go, I’ll be alright alone,” Tony said. He sat back down on the edge of his bed. 

And he found himself throwing up a great deal. Tony’s distress sounds made Steve run back to the room. 

“Oh God, Tony,” Steve was by his side in an instance. He was giving Tony’s back a few pats. “You told me you were okay!”

“I was!!” Tony croaked out, already feeling weak. “Steve… I… I need to rest.”

“I’m staying,” Steve said with determination. “I’ll get you a drink first. Jarvis, call up Bruce. And inform the rest of the team I’m taking Tony off the roster temporarily, effective immediately.”

“What!?” Tony stood up. He stepped forward to start an argument with Steve when he stepped on his own vomit and slipped. 

Steve was trying his best not to look at that. “Take a shower and we’ll talk about it.”

Tony tried not to scream his frustration out. He went back to the washroom with fresh set of clothes. And guess what? The entire time inside, he felt fine!!

 

…

 

It wasn’t magic. Hydra hadn’t used magic on Tony. They had attacked him with science, and boy did Tony hate their guts. 

He was back in his lab and was working simply because he couldn’t sleep. He left Steve a note. Steve, who was sleeping right beside Tony. Steve had showered while Tony was, earlier. He had chucked all of Tony’s clothes on the couch in the room, before making Tony’s bed neat for him. Both of them fell asleep together, after Steve got Tony enough water to drink. 

Tony felt bad leaving Steve alone in his bedroom. The warmth Tony was feeling felt good, Steve’s presence had that effect; like he was being protected by someone. 

But he couldn’t sleep. He had nightmares, especially after going through the wormhole a year and a half back. He hadn’t told anyone about this, except Jarvis. That itself woke him up and destroyed his sleep.

“J, turn my music down,” Tony sighed. He slumped down onto his chair. “Has Bruce identified what’s causing me to throw up?”

“He is close, sir,” Jarvis replied. “He is writing a detailed report about it. Would you like to take a look at it?”

“Nah,” Tony wiped his hands on a rag. He tossed it onto the floor and sighed. “Let’s do something on our own. An experiment. Ask me something, J. Anything.”

After a long pause, Jarvis spoke up. It’s an unusual request, really. 

“Are you in love with Captain Rogers?”

Tony closed his eyes and sighed. He thought about all the times he had admired Steve from the sidelines, and immediately felt the love for him. He smiled to himself, already feeling Steve’s warmth embracing him.

“No, J, I’m not in love with him,” Tony lied. 

The next thing he knew, he threw up.  “Ask me another question, J.”

“Are you good friends with Clint Barton?”

Tony wiped his vomit away using a handkerchief. He let out a chuckle at that question.

“Yes, I love Clint, he’s a good friend,” Tony sat back. Nothing happened. “See, J? See where I’m coming from? One more question, please.”

“Have you ever wanted to make out with the Black Widow?” Jarvis asked, cheekily.

Tony smiled to himself. “No, no way.”

The next thing he knew, he’s puking all over his new blueprints for Clint’s arrows. 

“Sir, I think you have diagnosed yourself,” Jarvis said. “Shall I call Doctor Banner in so that you can explain your findings?” 

Tony stood up and stretched. “Not now. Let him do up his report. I’ll go eat and drink something because I can feel myself getting weaker.”

Tony went to his fridge and took a bottle of iced water. He gulped down, feeling thirsty and tired. Just then, there was a knock on his lab door. 

Pepper Potts was standing outside, waving at him. Tony let her in and she jogged towards him. He took a quick glance at his watch that was right beside the coffee machine; time was 8am.

“Tony!! Oh God, are you okay? Natasha briefly filled me in with the details,” Pepper looked at him worriedly. “Is it food poisoning?”

“No… it’s… Hydra,” Tony sighed. 

“Hydra?” 

“Yeah, they used one of their experiments on me and now I’m paying the price,” Tony sat down. He pat on the couch for Pepper to sit with him.

“I was so worried. So I ran out of DC to catch you,” Pepper sighed. She looked really flustered, and Tony felt bad for her. “Anyway, you won’t be attending the gala, right?”

“Must I?” Tony pouted. He drank more cold water, which woke him up further. 

“It’s your wish, really. If you’re feeling too weak, you can skip it,” Pepper smiled. “It’s today evening, 7pm.”

“I’ll be there. It’s a social gathering with free food. Come on,” Tony joked. 

Pepper laughed at that. At Tony, who was always goofing around. 

“But in all seriousness,” her laughter vanished and she looked dead serious. “If you don’t feel good, just skip the gala. I can probably conjure an excuse up.”

Tony smiled at her, knowing she would help him out. Dating hadn’t worked for them but they decided to remain good friends. 

Pepper leaned in and gave him a tight hug, despite him reeking of puke. She brushed back his hair and smiled at him.

“Get well soon, Tony,” she stood up. She gathered her stuff and began to walk towards the exit. “How is Steve?”

“Shouldn’t you ask him that question?” Tony stood up and went to the fridge to get another bottle. 

Pepper turned on her heels, giggling. “So, he doesn’t know about your feelings yet?”

Tony knew there was no point in lying. If he did, Pepper would figure out, and he would puke. He shook his head.

“I swear to God, everyone here except Steve knows about it,” Pepper rolled her eyes fondly. “Don’t wait up any longer! Steve might just set up a Tinder account and get the girls there!”

Tony looked scandalized. “If you or anyone helps him with that, I’ll skin you all alive!!”

“No you wouldn’t,” Pepper laughed and exited the lab. 

Tony huffed. He slammed the fridge door shut and walked to his desk like an angry baby, pouting. He drank some more water and got to work with Clint’s arrows; he didn’t need that blueprint anyway. 

His lab door swished open again as Pepper stepped in. “Hey, remember to come for the gala tonight. Stark shareholders will all be there. Unless, you’re feeling sick.”

“Yes, that,” Tony sighed. “Thanks for the reminder again, Pep.”

Pepper walked away this time, with Tony watching her go. He decided to be responsible for once and get ready to go to the gala. 

When he went back up to his room, Steve was no longer there. Tony leaned against the door frame, looking at the part of the bed where Steve was sleeping on, longingly.

 

…

 

Pressed suit. Looking so shiny. A shit ton of cologne that will make him a magnet to attract women, even men in some cases. Product on hair to make it look seamless.

Tony Stark was born ready for this. The gala, any gala or press events, were places Tony could absolutely rule. It was where he ironically felt at home, where he could mingle around and be in his element. 

He secured his Jaeger watch around his wrist and looked at himself in the mirror. He was all ready to mingle around with the other tech whizzes, organized by his own company, Stark Industries. He looked at his phone, which had an incoming call from Pepper.

“Yeah?” Tony asked while walking out of his room. 

“Are you sure you feel fine? I mean, we need you here but if you’re really sick-”

“Let me stop you there,” Tony smiled, cutting Pepper off halfway. “I’m ready and feel good. Happy and I will be there in a while. Relax, Pepper.”

“I am, in fact, taking a sip of champagne and hoping no one would mess this night up,” Pepper said. Tony could hear the crowd chatter at the other end of the line.

“Relax, I’ll be here and we’ll run the show together,” Tony smiled. He hung up in a few seconds and took the elevator, sighing. 

Nope. No signs of nausea or any shitty feeling. He was fine.

“Jarvis, did Bruce figure out what’s up with me?”

“Not yet, sir,” Jarvis replied. “Although I must say, he is very close to identifying the science behind the solution Hydra had sprayed on you. Dr. Banner would appreciate your findings in this.”

Tony kept staring at the floor, thinking about his team, about Steve. Steve who was so caring and protective. He was always there for his teammates and for Tony, especially last night, but Tony had conveniently decided to ditch Steve for the lab earlier. Sometimes, Tony was an absolute idiot. He felt that his team needed to be made aware of what Tony was really going through. Perhaps Bruce could tell the team the mechanics behind the spray… which Tony didn’t know yet. 

Yes, that could work. But for now, he had to go for this gala and mingle around with people, talk about engineering projects and whatnot. 

“Jarvis, inform Bruce about my findings,” Tony finally said when the elevator reached the Tower’s basement. Happy Hogan was standing there, in front of Tony’s Audi R8. “And maybe later, tell Steve I’m sorry I had to wake up early, I mean, I had to clock in some lab time.” Tony said while walking to the car, feeling a weight being lifted off of his chest. “Hap, let’s go!”

Tony jogged to the driver’s seat and sat down. He then drove out of the Tower, into the evening traffic.

In the Tower, Bruce was watching the footage recorded by Jarvis in Tony’s lab. He was watching Jarvis asking a few questions and Tony vomiting after answering some of them.

“Oh my God!” Bruce suddenly stood up, pushing his swiveling chair backwards. It hit his table, making coffee splash out of his mug. “I think I got it! Call in the team!”

Within a few minutes, the entire team except for Tony was gathered in Bruce’s lab. Bruce’s lab was Bruce’s sanctuary thus no one came in, unless invited, and that was rare. This was all new to most of them.

“Yes, Bruce?” Clint asked, sitting on his swiveling chair.

“I found out why Tony has been throwing up,” Bruce spoke quickly. “What Hydra gave him is actually a genius invention.”

“Okay…” Steve didn’t look so happy. “What is it?”

“Hydra sprayed some sort of a special kind of emetic drug, that triggers Tony’s chemo-receptor zone, making him vomit,” Bruce explained. “Whenever Tony lied, his amygdala and a few other parts of his brain has a lot of activity. The drug ‘senses’ the sudden burst of activity and triggers Tony’s chemo-receptor zone, making him vomit every time he lies. I know it sounds confusing, but if you look at it, Hydra did develop something that’s genius.”

Everyone took a few seconds to digest what Bruce was saying. Steve got the gist of it. 

“Okay,” Steve nodded his head. “Okay, how will you cure it?”

“Easy,” Bruce smiled. “I just need to research and come up with an anti-emetic drug that is specially created for Tony’s scenario.”

“Did you just say it’s easy?” Clint leaned forward, eyes slightly wide in surprise.

Bruce shrugged at Clint, giving him a smile.

“Good analysis,” Natasha smiled. 

“I agree,” Thor smiled

“This is some new level of science!” Bruce sounded very excited.

“Let’s have Tony down,” Steve said. “Jarvis, can you get him to come down?”

“Captain, Mr. Stark is not in this building at the moment,” Jarvis informed him.

Steve felt his heart skip a beat. “Also, there is an incoming call from Director Fury regarding a new emergency mission.”

“Put him through,” Natasha said. 

A holographic screen popped up in front of all of them, with Fury looking serious. It was his usual face but he also had an air of worry around him.

“Avengers, we just got a report from one of our undercover agents that Hydra is going to crash Stark Industries’ gala party tonight,” Fury spoke. “The gala party is filled with prominent VIPs and tech proposals. They will be disguised as normal civilians in the gala.”

“Why are they suddenly so interested in the gala?” Clint frowned. “Did they show any interest in it before?”

“Not that we know of. The tip-off came in just a minute ago,” Fury explained.

“Maybe Hydra wants the tech and some brains,” Natasha suggested. 

“Avengers, this may not be about Stark Industries,” Fury spoke with urgency. “Tony Stark is attending the gala. And with what took place a few days ago, there is a possibility that Hydra may want  _ him _ .”

Steve, Bruce and Thor blanched a little. They knew Tony knew how to cover his ass in tough situations, hell, he’s proven himself on countless number of occasions. But if an ambush was about to happen, and if Tony was really going to be kidnapped, the team couldn’t just let that happen. 

“Avengers,” Steve sighed, his gaze focused on a folder on Bruce’s desk. “Let’s Assemble.”

The rest of them didn’t question Steve’s order. They scrambled out of the lab to suit up. Steve himself was walking away.

“Dr. Banner, we need you to focus on the cure and research, the rest of us will go for this,” Steve said and dashed out of the lab.

Bruce agreed with it. “Big green is pretty conspicuous anyway.”

Fury chuckled lightly before disconnecting the line. 

“We need to be dressed in suits,” Steve said. “Formal wear, weapons in hand disguised. Can we reconvene at the communal level in twenty minutes?”

The rest of the team agreed. All of them burst into a sprint to their rooms. 

“We’ll get to him fast, Steve,” Natasha assured him. 

Steve started to ransack his closet for a good looking formal wear. He was frankly… worried! Tony, that idiot for a genius, hadn’t told anyone he was going out in the evening. Steve wondered if anyone had pissed Tony off as Tony always updated the team if he had to go somewhere. Maybe it was because Steve had shared Tony's bed with him? Or had left Tony’s bedroom? Screw that, Tony had left him in  _ his  _ bedroom first! And for what, to clock lab time and he had to know that from Jarvis?

Steve pulled out a few pieces of clothing and growled a little, frustrated. He did like Tony. He was really fond of the genius and had been trying to hint that to him by bringing food for him and making sure he got ample rest. But oh well, it’s the effort that counts, right?

He shook all the thoughts about feelings and Tony out of his head. Right now, Steve wanted to make sure Tony was safe. 

Steve gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. If Hydra even touched a single strand of hair on Tony’s head, they were going to incur Steve’s deadly rage wrath and no one was going to stop that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't we all love a protective Steve Rogers.....  
> What is gonna happen in the gala, though? Leave a feedback if you'd like to! <3


	2. Hydra Attacks Tony Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra attacks Tony in his gala and the Avengers come to his rescue. Also, Steve may have found out something he wasn't meant to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! How have you all been?  
> I'm so sorry for posting this so late. I've been so busy with my final year project in school. So here's a little warning for chapter 3, it could take a while. But I'll definitely post it!  
> Thank you so much for your support and feedback for this story! I really appreciate it!! I love you all so much!!
> 
> Happy reading! :D
> 
> **There's vomiting in this chapter**  
> **There's slight angst too :")**

Swimming through the press gathered outside his Long Island Stark Industries facility, Tony Stark was more than happy to make it inside. Happy  _ made  _ sure Tony made it inside in one piece. 

The reception desk was filled with ladies wearing black court shoes and the usual Stark Industries receptionists’ uniforms, with their buns neatly pinned on their heads. They were buzzing around, making sure the guests signed against their names on the clipboard and had the Stark Industries passes with them. Tony walked up to the desk.

“Mr. Stark?” one of the receptionists smiled at him. Tony noticed how her matte red lipstick was done perfectly on her lips. “Ms. Potts told us to be ready for you.”

“Do I have to sign my name on the guest list, Jenny?” Tony chuckled. 

The receptionist blushed when she heard Tony use her first name. “We have a separate clipboard for Stark employees. Here’s your pass.”

Tony signed on the clipboard, still having a smile plastered across his face. He took his pass. “See ya around, Jen. Tell your boyfriend Chris I said hi.”

Tony didn’t get to see the receptionist’s eyes widen. He was whisked away to the gala function hall by Happy. 

The Long Island facility had everything, from engineering labs and R&D hubs, to a prototype display viewing gallery for guests who’d love to take a tour. This facility also had a function hall at the south wing, which was often converted into a venue for galas and parties. Product launches and press conferences also took place in the function hall too. 

“Slow down a little, Hap,” Tony gave Happy’s back a pat. 

“I’m gonna make sure everyone has a pass here,” Happy said, sounding and looking dead serious. He brisk-walked away to the entrance of the hall.

Tony rolled his eyes. He walked to the bar at the corner of the hall. “Get me a grown-up Shirley Temple.”

Tony slid a 50 dollar bill across the table. The bartender gave Tony a smile and got to work. 

Tony sighed and leaned against the wooden table. He was looking at the crowd, at all the prominent figures in the world of engineering and technology. He even saw some of his shareholders chatting with each other while holding glasses of champagne. 

“Tony!” Pepper called him excitedly. She jogged to him from the entrance, wearing heels. Heels and jogging could only be done by Pepper Potts herself.

“Heya Pep!” Tony grinned. He hugged her. “How’s everything?”

“Everything’s okay so far. We have guests from Rand, Cross, Roxxon and even FuturePharm here. We also have a couple of potential investors, like Taylor Foundation.”

“Donyell is here?” Tony asked, surprised. 

“Yes, in attendance,” Pepper took a look at her phone, where the hard copy guest list was stored. “Must be mingling around with the crowd.”

“Making his dad proud,” Tony noted with a soft smile.

“Mr. Stark?” the bartender passed the drink to Tony.

“Shirley Temple?” Pepper gave Tony a side smile.

“Grown-up,” Tony pointed out after taking a sip. “Okay, who do I have to mingle with and exude my charm to?”

Pepper laughed. “Is that all that’s in your agenda for today?”

“Well, if time allows, I would like to drive back home with a couple of girls or men to give them a good time,” Tony joked. He and Pepper were strolling down the hall to join the crowd. 

“And give the poor Avengers a security breach fright?” Pepper quipped.

Tony noticed how a couple of men wearing tuxedos stiffened up when they heard the word ‘Avengers’. He kept walking, keeping an eye on them. 

“They can deal with it, once they recover from the initial shock,” Tony shrugged, making Pepper laugh more. 

Tony soon found himself in the middle of the crowd. He was talking to some of the guests, but his attention was on the men who had stiffened up. Tony also spotted Happy walking around, making sure the security was handling things well. 

“Mr. Stark!” a young man looking like he was in his late-twenties, smiled at him. “I’m Charles, from Rand Enterprises.”

“Hey,” Tony shook the young man’s hand. 

“We can see you’re very invested in the energy business,” the man smiled genuinely. “A few people from Rand would like to talk to you about the arc reactor technology and how Rand and Stark can collaborate on a new project.”

Tony saw the men hanging around, looking absolutely rigid. They weren’t mingling around with the crowd, weren’t looking for any investors or company personnel to speak to about their products. They didn’t belong here. That was crystal clear. But what were they doing here then? And who the hell were they? Tony frowned.

“Mr. Stark?” the young man called him.

“Ah yes,” Tony’s attention snapped back to the man. He looked at him. “You’re interested in Stark Industries?”

The man looked taken aback. “Well, not SI as a whole just the arc reactor technology…”

“Pepper!” Tony called her. Pepper jogged to him. 

“Yes?” she smiled.

“Meet Charles from Rand and Charles, meet SI’s CEO, Pepper Potts,” Tony smiled. “You should book an appointment and speak with him and his people from Rand, Pep. They’re interested in clean energy.”

“Sure thing,” Pepper said politely. She took down Charles’ contact details and was settling the appointment date with him.

But Tony’s focus wasn’t on Charles or Pepper. It was on the men, who were now walking around the hall. One of them accidentally caught Tony’s eye contact. He glared at Tony, then looked away. 

Tony gulped down his drink and placed it on an empty tray one of the waiters was walking away with. 

“That’s settled,” Pepper smiled. “We’ll be happy to work with Rand. Looking forward to seeing you in two weeks.”

“Tell Ward I said hey,” Tony managed to give Charles a smile. He turned to Pepper. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Sure,” Pepper nodded her head. 

“He knows Mr. Meachum?” Charles asked Pepper with his eyes wide. 

Tony walked away to the washroom which was located at the back of the hall. He didn’t feel good about seeing the men there. They didn’t look friendly, heck, they didn’t even fake being friendly. 

Tony went to the sink to wash his hands. That’s when the washroom door opened. Tony watched a couple of men in tuxedos entering the washroom from the corner of his eye. He sighed, confirming that they were here for him. All of them pretended to be doing their business at the urinals. 

It was dead silent in the washroom, except for the sound of peeing. Tony waited until the men were done. Once done, he straightened up, looking tough. And pissed. 

“So, I’m pretty sure you fellas aren’t here for a tech talk,” Tony said, sounding firm yet with a hint of sarcasm layered in his tone. “Wanna hash it out?”

The men who were washing their hands, now, didn’t react to anything he said.

 

…

 

Steve was pretty sure Happy took a dump in his pants when he saw a couple of Avengers arrive in gala outfits. If they were carrying their weapons, they did not show it out explicitly. 

He let them in straight away, without drawing suspicion from anyone. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Happy whispered.

“We got a tip,” Natasha replied. “Where’s Tony?”

“I… I’m not sure. He mingles around, does his job. It’s easy to lose him in a crowd like this,” Happy said, sounding worried. 

“Don’t worry,” Natasha assured him. “I suggest you find Pepper and be with her. We’ll look for Tony.” 

Happy did as he was told. The four Avengers got to work by walking around, looking for their teammate and for any Hydra personnel disguised as a civilian in the gala. 

“See if you can spot anyone out of the ordinary,” Steve said softly into his comms. 

Clint took a piece of cheese from the tray a waiter was carrying.

“Clint…” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“What, social events mean free food. I’m not gonna pass up the chance for some free food,” Clint justified as he savored the cheddar cheese cube. 

“Mingle around,” Steve said. 

The lot of them dispersed, walking around while smiling at people. 

Steve managed to get to one corner of the hall. He grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter, just to blend in with the crowd. He took one look at the hall.

“I don’t see anyone out of the ordinary,” Steve frowned. 

“Tony isn’t here either, Captain,” Thor reported in. 

“They must have gotten to him,” Natasha said. “There’s no other explanation, Steve.”

“Question is, where are they?” Clint asked. 

Steve gulped down the champagne at one-go. He placed the glass on an empty plastic chair that was beside him.

“Rough day?” a middle-aged man walked towards Steve. He nodded at the champagne glass. 

“Excuse me, sir,” Steve smiled politely and walked away. He felt bad to just rudely go away but he had a job to do. Not to socialize. He tapped on his comms. “Meet me near the back door of the hall.”

Within a minute, the four of them met each other.

“You think they are outside the facility?” Clint asked, chewing a piece of cookie. Thor was munching on a brownie.

“Maybe we should call in Jarvis for this,” Natasha suggested. 

“Jarvis?” Steve asked. “Is Tony outside the facility?”

“No sir,” he replied in their comms after a few seconds. “Mr. Stark is not outside the facility. Mr. Stark’s pass data says that he is still inside the facility.”

“Which part?” Natasha asked.

“Scanning,” Jarvis said.

“Cap, there are eyes on us,” Clint said, while licking his fingers. He sneakily took another piece of cookie off a tray and munched onto it. 

Steve opened the back door and all four of them casually stepped in. He shut the door and leaned against it. Steve took in his full surroundings. All that there was in this dim hallway passage were several chairs, tables and speakers lined up. There were the men’s and women’s washrooms beside the neat rows of chairs. Steve sighed.

“We’ll get him, Cap,” Clint assured him. 

They started to slowly walk down the hallway, still waiting for Jarvis’ scan. The hallway lights were flickering on and off. Only the sign indicating the direction for the exit shone brightly. 

Steve stopped his team in front of the washrooms. “I hear something.”

The rest of them tried to listen to the sounds Steve was hearing. That was when they heard a mechanical blast from the men’s room. 

“Repulsor blast fired in the men’s room beside you,” Jarvis’ voice suddenly burst into their comms. 

“What?” Thor frowned.

That was when a man in a tuxedo flew out of the men’s washroom, ripping the door out of its hinges. He slammed into Steve and his team, sending them all crashing onto the floor. 

Steve groaned and slowly got up, ears ringing a little.

“My cookie!!” he managed to hear Clint shout in despair. 

When he got up, he saw about ten men in tuxedos manhandling Tony. Tony was pressed against the wall, struggling to get out of their grip. Steve even saw the state of Tony’s suit - stained with vomit. 

“Avengers!” Steve called. He helped Clint and Natasha up. Thor was already up on his feet. “Assemble!” 

They charged to the washroom, ready to help Tony out. 

Steve saw that Tony had just his gauntlet in his hand. He fired at one of the men and electrocuted another, freeing himself just for a moment. He used his leg to kick another man on his shin, breaking it. Tony used all his strength to pull a man holding him across the floor and slammed him onto the other man holding Tony's left arm. 

The Avengers stepped in, knocking out the men who were on the floor. 

“Hydra,” Tony told his team. 

Natasha used her widow bites, disguised as a bracelet, to disable some of the men. Thor and Steve were using their fists. Clint kneed a man in his stomach and slammed his head onto the ceramic hand-wash sink, shattering it. 

“That’s for destroying my cookie,” Clint muttered to himself. 

“Are there more?” Natasha asked as she looked around at the 10 men in suits, groaning in pain and writhing on the floor.

“I think so,” Tony replied. 

“More incoming,” Jarvis warned them. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Steve said.

All of them ran out of the washroom to the door that led to the gala. When they opened it, they saw more men in suits running towards them; one of them had a spray can.

“Shit,” Clint swore.

Thor slammed shut the door and locked it, and the lot of them ran to the exit down the creepy hallway. 

“The exit is a maze, so stay with me!” Tony took the lead.

The Avengers turned right and disappeared down the corner when they heard the gala hall door being ripped open.

After a few seconds, they turned left and ran down a short flight of stairs. 

“I feel like I’m in a video game,” Clint commented. 

“I agree,” Thor said. “Tis feels like a game called Outlast.”

“Did you just compare  _ my _ company’s hallway to some fucked up psychiatric hospital??” Tony asked, sounding very offended.

“Language.” Steve said a little harshly, making Tony quiet for a brief moment. Steve winced at his own tone, but figured Tony had it coming anyway.

Natasha kicked open the exit door. Steve knew they were in deep trouble when he saw several men lined up outside the exit.

 

…

 

Tony internally sighed when he saw the number of Hydra soldiers lined up on the no-entry road outside his facility’s rarely used exit door. Seriously, what was his security team doing? 

He got his answer almost immediately, when he saw his security team knocked out and lying down at the end of the no-entry road. 

“Oh boy,” Clint whispered.

“Baron Strucker?” Tony saw Steve glare at Strucker. 

“Avengers,” Strucker stretched his arms out. “Good to see you all. I can see that our little experiment has been working well on your teammate so far.”

“No it’s not,” Tony lied. The next thing he knew, he vomited all over the ground. 

“Case in point,” Strucker smiled. “Mr. Stark, let’s spray more of our miracle serum on you, to see what it does to you. Let’s see how much you can actually take. Let’s see how much the Avengers can actually take!”

“Nope,” Clint stepped forward. “No can do!”

“We should be kicking your ass for making Tony’s life this difficult,” Natasha added on.

“Your little creation is not approved by SHIELD or the US government. It’s illegal and we should be throwing you behind bars for this,” Steve said firmly. 

“We will not let you use your terrible experiment on us or on any innocent people! We won’t stand down until you are stopped, Strucker.” Thor declared.

Something in Strucker’s expression shifted, which made Tony ready his gauntlet. 

“Then so be it,” Strucker looked menacing. He motioned for his troops to go forward, to attack the Avengers. 

The Avengers bravely went forward to fight. 

“Avengers Assemble!” Steve shouted.

Both sides clashed with each other. 

Clint pulled out little arrows from his coat pocket and stuck them on some of the Hydra agents’ heads, electrocuting them. Thor summoned Mjolnir.

“Clever weaponry hiding spot,” Thor grinned. He grabbed his hammer once it flew to him and smashed it onto several Hydra agents. 

“I know right,” Clint smiled smugly before giving another Hydra agent a kick in his nuts.

Natasha and Steve were using hand-to-hand combat to disable the agents. 

Tony was using his gauntlet to fire blasts. He managed to dodge out of the grips of several agents, who wanted to get their hands on him. It wasn’t Tony’s first time where this many people actually wanted to touch him. But just… not people from Hydra. 

Tony managed to catch the sight of Strucker backing away from the fight.

“Strucker, guys!” Tony shouted. He dashed across the road to get to Strucker.

“Tony, wait for us!” Natasha warned him. She flung herself up a Hydra agent and wrapped her thighs around him. Once he seemed weak, she jumped away from him and knocked him out by punching his head. She then ran to Tony.

By the time Tony heard Natasha, he was already close to Strucker. He realized that this was a ruse created by Strucker to actually isolate him from the team.

“Apprehend him,” Strucker ordered. 

“Not on our watch!” Steve head-butted a Hydra agent and dashed across the road.

Tony fired a few blasts and made sure the Hydra agents plus Strucker were standing away from him. He saw another agent standing beside Strucker, with a spray can. That godforsaken spray can. 

Tony aimed his gauntlet at the agent who was holding the spray can when he felt someone crash onto him from the back.

“J, has my suit left the Tower?” Tony groaned once he hit the ground.

“Affirmative, sir,” Jarvis replied. “In five seconds it will reach here.”

“Buy Tony some time!” Steve gritted his teeth. He and Natasha slid across the road to dodge the Hydra agents firing at them. They immediately got up and disabled the agents and the weapons. 

Natasha pried the man off of Tony, while Steve kicked the spray can out of the other agent’s hand. 

“What’s the endgame here, Strucker?” Steve grabbed him by the collar and smashed him against the concrete wall behind. 

“Nothing much,” Strucker shrugged, smiling a little. “Just wanted to create a little chaos.”

“Are you okay?” Natasha asked Tony. 

The Iron Man suit descended from the night skies. 

A Hydra agent had picked up the spray can and was charging towards Natasha. Tony had seen it.

“No!” Tony shouted. He pushed Natasha to the side and took the full brunt of the spray.

Cool water landed on his skin. 

“Oh no,” Natasha said softly. 

He wiped the content off his face, stumbling back a little. When Steve saw what had happened, he threw Strucker to the ground and took his shield, that was strapped to his back. He whacked Strucker hard, with it.

“Why would you do that?” Natasha asked Tony, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Tony waved her off and walked to his suit. Clint and Thor made sure Tony was able to reach his suit. 

“I had over five ways to stop him!” Natasha bursted out. She kicked a Hydra agent running to her so hard, she sent him flying to the end of the road. “Must you really protect me?!”

“No,” Tony brushed her off. He threw up all over his suit, again. 

Natasha’s facial features softened. She didn’t say much but proceeded to fight more Hydra agents. 

Just then, the SHIELD helicarrier started to hover above the Long Island facility. 

“Fall back!!” Strucker shouted at his men when he saw it. He gave Steve’s abdomen a kick, sending him flying across the road. “We will not get arrested by this bastards!”

“Woah big guy, watch your language!” Clint said as he fired an electro arrow at Strucker, who got hit by it. He fell to the ground and convulsed a little.

“Everybody take cover!” Thor shouted as he spinned his hammer, firing it up. 

Natasha kicked one last Hydra agent and got to Clint. Both of them ran back to the Facility’s exit door. 

“Cap!” Tony shouted for Steve. He was finally in the comfort of his suit. Blasting several repulsor blasts at the Hydra agents, Tony was also looking for Steve. “Come on! Red, white and blue suit how hard is it to find!”

“Iron Man, SHIELD will handle this from here,” Fury’s voice floated in his suit. 

“Tell your troops to wait! Thor is firing it up!” Tony warned him. 

“You called us bastards! Let me show you how much more of a bastard we Avengers can get!” Thor shouted as more lightning emerged now.

“Thor made a joke!” Clint’s excited voice suddenly burst into Tony’s suit. “You guys owe me 10 bucks each!”

“Not now,” Natasha sighed.

“Captain Rogers is near the fences, sir,” Jarvis spoke up. Tony saw him slowly getting up, near the electric fence bordering the Facility. 

Tony flew down as fast as he could and grabbed Steve. 

“My shield!” Steve cried out.

“I’ll get you into the facility first,” Tony said firmly. 

“Are you okay, though?” Steve asked, looking up at the Iron Man suit’s faceplate.

“Yeah,” Tony said and made sure the external audio got cut off before he puked all over the interior of the suit. 

“Get in!” Natasha called them. 

Tony dropped Steve at the exit entrance. “You three, keep running all the way back to the gala!”

After shutting the door, Tony flew back to where Steve’s shield was. He picked it up and made his way to the exit entrance.

Thor chose this moment to direct his lightning to the road, where the Hydra agents and a now weak Strucker were scrambling around to find an escape route. The impact rocked the entire Facility, sending shock waves throughout the area. People were thrown across the road with some of them getting fried. Glass from almost all the levels of the Facility was shattered. 

Strucker and two of his agents, however, managed to get themselves away from harm.

The shock wave sent Iron Man hurtling backwards, crashing into the exit door. 

“There goes the door!” Clint shouted as he ran with his team. But Steve skidded to a halt.

“Tony!” he called and ran to Iron Man. “Open the faceplate.”

Tony reluctantly opened it and revealed his sweat-coated face. Steve could smell the pungent smell of fresh vomit reeking from Tony. He tried not to grimace.

“Don’t lie about how you’re feeling,” Steve sounded firm. “Let’s go.”

The four of them jogged back to the gala hall, with Tony giving Fury the all-clear to arrest any Hydra soldiers and most importantly, Strucker.

 

…

 

“My God, they were here?” Pepper gasped as she wiped the sweat from Tony’s forehead. 

“Yes, Ms. Potts,” Steve sounded very apologetic. He was working on patching up the cut on Tony’s right cheek. “We came here and I’m glad we managed to direct the attack outside.”

“Thank you for evacuating everyone on time, Happy,” Pepper smiled. “I ought to give you a raise.”

“You’re welcome. I’m also going to layoff the security and request hiring new ones,” Happy spoke.

Both Pepper and Tony sighed, which Steve didn’t fail to notice. 

“That will not be necessary, Happy,” Pepper deadpanned. “Security did their best and evacuated the people in a coordinated manner, just like practiced. I don’t see why they need to be fired. A stern warning should do. For external security, more training seems like a suitable action to take.”

Happy didn’t seem too happy about that. He nodded his head and walked away from them to check on the security team.

The Avengers and Pepper were resting at the gala hall, which was now empty. They were seated on the plastic chairs and attending to their injuries. 

“Bruce is already coming up with a cure,” Natasha assured Tony. “So, don’t worry too much.”

“I feel like I’m shaking a little,” Tony noted. 

His hands were shaking indeed. And that was because of the second dosage of the ‘lie serum’ that had been sprayed on him earlier. Tony knew Natasha didn’t have to be saved or protected, but he couldn’t help it. He loved his team and it’d rather be him taking the beating than any of his teammates. 

“Must be Hydra’s experiment taking effect again,” Steve sighed. 

“I feel like… I feel like I drank 20 cups of coffee but feeling tired yet adrenaline is rushing,” Tony summed it up. He leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Nope. Closing his eyes didn’t help him. He needed the cure now more than ever. 

“I need to uh… go,” Tony suddenly stood up. The room around him was swirling yet it didn’t stop him from walking to his suit. He felt his legs go wobbly and he lost his sense of balance. “J, let’s go to my lab.”

Once in his suit, Tony saw Steve staring at him with the  _ are you serious  _ look. Jarvis navigated the suit as Tony struggled to keep himself together.

“Jarvis, I need to let it out,” Tony said. “I think the second dosage is making me want to vomit! But… but I can’t without lying...”

“Sir, please refrain from panicking,” Jarvis comforted him in a soothing voice. “You can try lying to yourself to relieve yourself.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Tony breathed in and out, thinking that that was the weirdest advice Jarvis has ever given him. “Ask me a question!”

“Would you tell Captain Rogers about your true feelings for him?” 

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. “Open faceplate. And yes, I will tell him because we may get together and who knows, be a thing!”

The faceplate snapped open mid-air and the vomit simply cascaded out of Tony. The contents flew across the sky, right down to a street in New York, wherever he was at the moment. Some of the content hit his suit, staining it with vomit.

“Faceplate up,” Tony said in a breathy voice. “God bless whoever who came into contact with my vomit.”

“Sir, do you feel better?” Jarvis asked, with concern.

“Yeah, yeah that helped,” Tony smiled. “Let’s go to my lab now.”

The Iron Man suit’s thrusters fired up and brought Tony home quickly and safely. Once out of his suit, Tony stumbled his way to get to his mini fridge in the lab. He opened a bottle of water and dunked it down, spilling some drink on himself. Holding the bottle, Tony crashed onto his couch and whimpered a little as he felt the urge to vomit again. Tony curled himself into a ball and rocked himself back and forth, with no one by his side to make him feel better. He asked Jarvis to ask him another question.

 

…

 

Steve, Clint, Natasha and Thor made it back to the Tower using the Quinjet. Pepper and Happy had to clean up the mess and do some damage control, thus, they used Jarvis to send Tony a message and then got to work.

“I can see that you’re not happy,” Natasha told Steve. The team walked out of the landing pad into the elevator that would take them to the communal level. 

“Yeah, with how the mission went,” Steve sighed, frowning. “I realized I rushed all of us into this. I mean… we didn’t have a plan, just a goal and that was to rescue Tony.”

“I’m sure that’s not the real reason,” Natasha said. Thor and Clint were just standing at the side in silence, trying to blend in with the elevator walls.

“What do you want me to say, Natasha?” Steve let out a long sigh. 

“Come on, we all saw Tony just leave,” Natasha shrugged. “Also, he was walking like an old drunk man to his suit, which spoke much about his health.”

“That bast…!” Steve stopped himself from swearing. He shook his head vigorously before speaking. “That idiot just walked away without updating us. I get that he didn’t feel good but… tell us what is happening and stay with us!!”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to tell us, Cap,” Clint added, sounding quiet. “He just wants to keep his pain to himself, I suppose.”

Steve’s hardened expression softened a little. He didn’t say much for the rest of the elevator ride. 

Once at the communal level, Clint suggested he brought down food for Tony. Natasha and Steve settled in the kitchen to prepare a few sandwiches. Thor crashed at the communal level couch, sighing deeply.

After a few minutes of rest, Thor suddenly got up. “Ah, I should check on Bruce.”

“Thor, ask him when the counter-medication for Tony will be ready,” Steve said. “Clint, when you see Tony, tell him he’s off the roster. I thought I made myself clear, and I understand that today he needed to fight with us in the armor. But till he recovers, he’s not joining us in any missions.”

Clint almost flinched at how harsh Steve’s tone sounded. “Uh, sure, Steve. Just give me the sandwiches.”

Clint left with Thor after he took the plate of sandwiches.

“Wow, you really are pissed with Tony,” Natasha commented. “What did he do to you, Steve?”

“Nothing,” he grunted. He took his plate of PB&J and went to the couch. 

“Hmm, I think I can read between the lines,” Natasha said as she sat beside Steve.

“There are no lines, Tasha,” Steve gritted his teeth.

“Come on, you have feelings for Tony, have been caring for him,” Natasha pointed out. “I’m not… We’re not stupid, Steve. I get that Tony can be blind so maybe, if he isn’t reciprocating or getting the hint, you gotta step your game up.”

Steve gave Natasha a blank stare. But he was processing her words. “Thanks for the advice, Nat.”

“You’re welcome,” Natasha smiled cheekily. “You two idiots are really blind and hard-headed. Made for each other.”

Steve sat back and turned on the television to watch some news. But he realized Natasha did have a point. Maybe if he tried harder to tell Tony about his feelings, maybe if he tried harder to let Tony see how he felt about him, Steve wouldn’t be in this situation right now, where every small thing Tony did ticked him off. 

“I should go and check on Bruce,” Steve stood up, placing his plate of sandwiches on the coffee table. “I’ll take your advice, Nat, thank you.”

Natasha smiled at Steve as she relaxed further on the couch. “You’re welcome.”

 

…

 

“I come bearing some delicious food!” Clint announced his arrival cheerfully into the intercom. 

The lab door swished open for him. The first thing Clint saw was Tony curled up into a ball at his couch and the vomit on the floor.

“Oh fuck,” Clint rushed to Tony’s side. “Jarvis, why didn’t you tell us he was in this state?!”

“Mr. Stark repeatedly told me not to inform you or the Avengers, Agent Barton, I apologize,” Jarvis sounded like he was grateful for Clint’s presence in the lab.

“It’s okay, I know how Tony gets,” Clint assured Jarvis. He placed the plate of sandwiches down and nudged Tony. “Hey man, get up.”

“Go away,” Tony’s voice sounded muffled. 

“Fine, I’ll call Natasha and get her to make you eat,” Clint pretended to get up.

Tony jumped up, looking slightly terrified. “The last time that happened, I almost choked on salmon!  _ SALMON,  _ Clint!!!”

Clint burst out laughing. “Hey, good times!”

“Not for me,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “PB&J?”

“Yeah,” Clint said as he took a sandwich. 

Tony took a small bite, munching carefully. His tired face lit up. “Did Steve make this?”

Clint let out a laugh. “How’d you know?”

“He makes PB&J by placing the peanut butter as the base and jam on top. He usually places more peanut butter,” Tony shrugged.

“Come on, Tony,” Clint sighed, sitting down beside him. “Tell Steve how you feel!!! Good God that man is struggling with his own feelings, which I can’t tell you what because I’m not the right person to do that, but… honestly talk to him.”

“I can’t…” Tony sighed. His gaze shifted to his own pants. That’s when he realized he hadn’t changed after coming back to the Tower. “Clint… I can’t do that to him.”

“Why not?” Clint sat back on the couch. 

“I… I…” Tony looked at Clint with a sad look in his eyes. He figured he couldn’t lie to Clint because the serum would affect him anyway, making him weaker. “I come with baggage that Steve shouldn’t have to handle… He’s a good guy. I like him but… I’ve liked many people and I can let them go. So, I can let Steve go too.”

“Is this the lie you’ve been telling yourself?” Clint asked, eyes narrowing a little.

Tony didn’t answer that question. He looked away, feeling a stinging sensation at the back of his eyes. “He doesn’t deserve this… He doesn’t deserve me, Clint. He deserves better.”

“Okay, let’s ask Steve and find out what he deserves,” Clint stood up.

“Sit the fuck down,” Tony recovered from his moment of weakness and pulled Clint down. Clint landed back on the couch with a ‘thud’. The impact send Clint spewing all sorts of swear words, alarming Tony. “Sorry!”

“Not your fault!” Clint breathed in and out. “A door landed on me and I fought Hydra so, just another day for me.”

“Show me where you’re injured,” Tony said firmly.

“Hey, I’m the one who’s doing the therapy talk here, not you!”

“That’s what we’re calling this? Therapy talk?” Tony sounded amused.

“Don’t change topic. I’ll get my injuries sorted out,” Clint waved him off. “Look Tony, Steve will decide on what he deserves and what he doesn’t. You tell him about your feelings, he’ll see what he can do. And maybe, just maybe, you both can hit it off.”

“You’re really optimistic,” Tony smiled. “The door must have hit you hard.”

Clint gave Tony a side smile. “Please, go talk to him. Over Italian food or ice cream or the hot dog cart 3 blocks away from us.”

“You just want me to get dumped by Steve while having food, right?” Tony grinned.

“Or, on the contrary, I want you to get together with Steve while having food,” Clint winked. “I feel he’ll take you on many dates! He’ll hold your hand and tell you how happy he feels just to hold your hand. He’ll kiss you!! He’ll hug you and cook meals for you!”

“Stop it, Clint,” Tony covered his face as he was smiling like a fool, blushing a little. 

“You’re blushing!!” Clint screeched in excitement. “Let me see that face! Show me!!”

Clint tried to pry Tony’s arms off his face. Both of them looked like schoolboys playing during recess. Clint had Tony pinned to the couch as he used all his strength to pull away Tony’s arms. He was successful. 

“IT’S SO FUNNY WHEN YOU BLUSH!!” Clint was laughing away, while sitting on Tony. 

“I feel like we made out,” Tony got up, getting himself together. He gently pushed Clint, so that he sat on the couch instead. “I’ll make us coffee.”

“Don’t tell Steve that,” Clint snorted. “He’ll beat me up in the name of a training session.”

Tony threw Clint an amused look and went to his mini kitchen. He looked at the coffee machine, which was empty. Tony opened his cupboard to get coffee powder but there was none.

“Ran out of coffee,” Tony sighed.

“We gotta go to the communal level then,” Clint stood up. 

Both men took the elevator, joking with each other. Clint made fun of Happy looking petrified when he saw the Avengers earlier. Although Tony laughed at it, he defended Happy in a way that didn’t make Clint feel bad about joking about him. Their conversation topic took a drastic change  to chocolate cookies.

The elevator doors opened at the communal level.

“We need to bake more chocolate cookies!” Clint declared. “Bruce bakes those boring oatmeal ones, like come on…”

“Careful, Hulk might not like hearing that,” Tony smiled.

“Sure, I mean, big green has only tossed me around the Tower what, 3 times?” Clint thought back.

“I think this Tower has seen enough damage, Clint,” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Thor has had big green tossing him around over 20 times, per month,” Clint pointed out. “No, point is, I’m gonna bake us some chocolate cookies.”

“Make sure you ask Bruce where the sugar is,” Tony said. “The last time you baked, your gingerbread man was salty.”

“In my defense, I made the cookies at 3 in the morning!”

“Jesus…” Tony facepalmed himself. He turned into the kitchen and saw Thor and Bruce horsing around. Not something Tony saw everyday. 

“Just getting food,” Bruce smiled sheepishly. “Hey, how you feeling?”

“I’m o-,” Tony stopped himself. “Not bad, still in a lot of pain and in need of sleep but yes, pain!”

Tony didn’t vomit and felt relieved. 

“I’m glad you told us the truth,” Thor nodded his head in approval. 

He and Bruce walked out of the kitchen and joined Natasha at the couch. Tony and Clint shared a look. Like, what was up with those two?

Tony waited for Clint to get himself some sandwiches. He leaned against the kitchen counter and sighed. Clint did have a point. Tony had to start somewhere; to tell Steve about his feelings. How bad was rejection going to be? Worst case scenario, Steve says no and Tony throws himself into multiple projects without taking a break. Bruce would pop a vessel in his head if he saw Tony in that state. But really… Perhaps, Tony should ask Steve to have ice cream with him at Central Park, talk about random stuff before going to feelings. Nah… Maybe hot dog buns! And then take a walk down the street. But too many people would follow them and they’ll probably make headlines. What should he do? Corner Steve in his room? Call Steve to his lab? Take Steve on a vacation?

“Earth to Tony!!” Clint shook him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Let’s go.”

“Sure,” Tony said. 

They walked to the couch where Thor was handing the remote over to Natasha. 

“What are we watching?” Clint plopped down onto the couch. 

“I recommended Netflix!” Bruce spoke with food in his mouth. 

Tony sat down beside Clint, smiling at his fellow Avengers, who sounded like little kids. He decided to chill with them for a while before going back to his lab, with proper coffee of course.

This was when Steve entered the communal level. 

“Hey Steve!” Clint grinned, waving at him. “Solve this dilemma, Game of Thrones or Orange is the New Black?”

Steve didn’t answer Clint. In fact, Steve was just rooted to the spot he was standing and his gaze was fixed on Tony. The gaze was intense. Steve was sweating a little, and he was still wearing his Cap uniform, with just the helmet taken out. 

Tony immediately knew something was wrong.

“Tony…” Steve finally spoke.

Yeah, Tony’s name was called. Something was  _ definitely _ wrong.

“I’m pretty sure the TV show called  _ Tony  _ wasn’t in the dilemma list,” Clint pointed out. 

“Tony?” Steve cocked his head to the side and just stared at him.

“What…?” Tony asked, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Steve inhaled sharply. And exhaled out. “Do you have feelings for me?”

Tony felt the air get knocked out of his lungs. His vision blurred for a second as he got a huge shock hearing the question. Why the fuck wasn’t the ground swallowing him?

No one made a noise. Even Clint had stopped eating. He looked startled, and turned to Tony. 

“Huh?” Tony said dumbly.

Steve wasn’t ready to ask the same question a second time. He crossed his arms and steadied his stance, as if expecting a huge argument to break out.

Tony couldn’t act like he hadn’t heard the question either. It was loud and clear. 

“What… what made you think that?” Tony asked, voice pitched higher than usual. He was now standing up.

“The video of Jarvis asking you questions and you vomiting after answering some of them,” Steve explained.

What video?! What was he talking about?? Tony’s head was spinning as he tried to connect the dots. The air-conditioning was blasting to combat the summer heat but Tony could feel himself sweat. His throat went dry.

And then it hit him, even harder than Steve’s question. The video he had recorded and shown Bruce!! He totally forgot to tell Jarvis to omit the first question out, in case Steve wanted to view it. Well, Tony was officially fucked. Just another normal day in his life. Nothing special. Just being fucked because of his own actions. Or inaction. 

“Ah shit,” Tony heard Clint swear. 

Clint. Yes, maybe telling Steve about his feelings didn’t have to involve hot dogs or ice cream or Central Park or dates! Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it could be now! In front of his team. This was okay too!

“Do you believe everything you see?” Tony asked instead.

Out of everything he could have said, he had to ask this stupid question… Tony bit his tongue and cursed himself for having bad brain-to-mouth connection.

“I think in this case, I can,” Steve, that bull-headed, righteous idiot was still going on. Of course he wanted to know the answer.

“I don’t know,” Tony shrugged. He was trying to walk away, to run out of the communal level. “Feelings for you? I don’t know, Cap. I don’t think so.”

Tony didn’t know why he bothered to lie. Vomit burst out of him like a dam exploding. He used his hand to cover his mouth, stopping the vomit from spilling out. 

“Tony, hey buddy!” Bruce called him.

But Tony was not going to stop. He was running to the elevator, still holding back his vomit. He felt tears stinging the back of his eyes. 

“Tony, I just… I want to know,” Steve was walking to him. Holy shit, he wanted to know this so badly… but why?

Tony could hear Natasha calling Steve and telling him to not follow him.

Tony shook his head. “No.”

The second wave of vomit came flying out of him like a vicious creature let loose. Tony’s hand couldn’t hold the fort either. Tony backed away, but some of the vomit landed on Steve’s uniform, on the star on his chest.

The elevator doors opened and Tony scurried inside. 

“I’m sorry, Cap...” Tony said meekly. 

Before Steve could speak again, the elevator doors shut. Jarvis didn’t have to be told where Tony wanted to go. He brought him to his lab immediately. 

Once in his lab, Tony washed his hand and suit he was wearing. He splashed water all over himself. The scene of Steve asking him if he had feelings for him kept playing in his head, as if the encore button was broken. Tony splashed water on his face more vigorously. He also recalled his answers to Steve’s questions.

Tony slammed his hands on the tap, accidentally closing it. He clenched his fist into a ball and punched the nearest object to him, which was the coffee machine pot, breaking it.

Tony finally let the tears rise. He slumped down the base cabinets while a sob escaped him.

“I’m so stupid!” Tony cried out. “J, why am I so stupid?”

Tony pulled his knees close to his chest. He let the tears stream down silently, not letting another sob escape him.

“You are not stupid, sir,” Jarvis offered softly. “You panicked, sir. It is a normal human reaction, especially in a scenario like that.”

Tony tried not to think about what Steve had asked. He tried to block out the entire memory of it, but it seemed impossible. He squeezed his eyes shut, making more tears roll down. He hated himself for not telling Steve the truth. He had an opportunity and he messed it up. But part of him was glad that he hadn’t told Steve the truth. If Steve rejected him, it would hurt way more anyway. 

Tony wiped his tears, sniffling. The crying was pointless. Howard had told him that before. A whirring noise made Tony turn to his right, coming face-to-face with Dum-E. Dum-E held out his claw to Tony, in an attempt to comfort him. He took the claw and cradled it to his cheek using both his hands. U and Butterfingers stood close by Tony.

Steve was pure. He did some reckless things at times, but he was pure. Being in a relationship with Tony meant that Steve had to tolerate Tony and handle his baggage too. It was something Steve didn’t need and most importantly, didn’t deserve. Steve could easily find a girl for himself. Heck, he should tell Pepper and Natasha to set up a Tinder account for Steve so that he could experience some amazing things out there. 

Tony was sure that the kind of love Steve deserved, was not something Tony could give him. Steve deserved more and not this. Not this, imperfect, flawed and messy being that Tony was.

Steve deserved better, and Tony would be happy if Steve found what he deserved elsewhere.

He got up with the help of Dum-E while telling himself that. Tony was surprised that the lie he told himself didn’t make him vomit. Perhaps, it was the truth. Or perhaps, Tony had told himself that lie far too many times that even the lie became a truth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is me when it comes to brain-to-mouth filter.  
> How are Steve and Tony going to patch their relationship up? :")  
> Leave a feedback if you'd like to!! <3


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